As The Years Go By
by fairytaledreamer212
Summary: It's their first year of Hogwarts. Lily and Snape are best friends. James and Sirius are best friends too. But Lily and James... actually get along? Watch as Lily comes to hate and eventually love this boy. Trying to keep this accurate to the books.
1. 1st Year: Beginnings

**Disclaimer: Any characters that you recognize belong to J.K. Rowling, not me. I wish I had created them, but she is a much better writer and deserves the well-earned credit.**

* * *

James Potter awoke as the first rays of sun reached in through his window. Blinking sleep from his hazel eyes, he glanced at his clock, which read 6:03 am, September 1. That was all it took for him to remember what today was as he shot out of bed, eagerly running to get ready. He was starting school today, he was finally going to Hogwarts!

Of course, James had grown up knowing he would go to Hogwarts, but finally the day had arrived. He couldn't wait to ride the Hogwarts Express, to make some new friends, to get sorted, and to get to explore Hogwarts! Hopefully he would be into Gryffindor, like his father, though Ravenclaw, like his mother, wouldn't be too bad. He knew he wouldn't end up in Hufflepuff – he didn't have anything against Hufflepuffs but he knew he was better than that. And if he ended up in Slytherin… well, he didn't want to even consider that happening. Needless to say, James was very excited.

By seven o'clock, James was bouncing down the stairs with his trunk, which he had just finished packing. He was dressed in muggle clothes – he would change on the train – and he'd even tried to comb his unruly black hair, but quickly given up. He placed his trunk by the front door and ran to the kitchen to get a few pieces of toast from Calpurnia, his family's house elf. Toast in hand, he quietly slipped back up the stairs. Walking past his room, he poked his head quietly into the next room. He was greeted by the sight of his five-year-old sister Madeline, still asleep in her bed. Her black hair was splayed out over her pillow, her face peaceful and content. James longed to wake his sister, to play with her one last time before leaving but he decided to let her sleep.

Turning his back on his sister, he ran back down the stairs and out the back door to the broom shed. Retrieving his broom, he took off into the air. James knew he wouldn't be able to play Quidditch on the house team as a first year, but he loved to fly. It was always a good way for him to get his energy out, and this morning a good way to calm down his excitement. Staying low, James weaved among the trees of the forest behind his parents' house, time passing quickly as he flew.

By 9:30, James' parents were awake and dressed, as was his sister. Stepping to the back door, her gently-curling blonde hair cascading down her back, James' mother, Margaret called to her son to come in and have a real breakfast before leaving. Regretfully, James flew to the broom shed and dismounted, putting his broom away until he returned home from school. With a parting glance to his broom, James turned and ran into the house where his mother met him with a large hug.

"I can't believe you're finally going to Hogwarts," she said. "It seems like it was yesterday when your father and I first told you about Hogwarts. The house is going to be so quiet without you around. I'm going to miss you so much."

"C'mon Mum, I'll be back for Christmas break. Besides, I'm going to learn so much!" James said eagerly. He tried to pull out of his mother's embrace, but she wouldn't let him go.

"Let the boy breathe Margaret," James' father said with a chuckle as he came up behind his wife and son, holding Madeline's hand. "He'll be back soon enough. And when he does, you'll probably wish he were back at school, rather than causing havoc around here."

Margaret gave a watery smile as she released her son, straightening his glasses as she did so. "I suppose…" she murmured. "Well, let's go have breakfast and then head to the train station."

"Yay!" James cheered, "Come on Maddie!" He grabbed his sister's hand and giggling, they led the way into the kitchen.

* * *

Elsewhere in the world, a young girl was asleep in her bed, her red hair cascading over her pillow. Her mother stood in the doorway to her room, studying her youngest daughter who was still sleeping peacefully. As the clock digits changed from 9:29 to 9:30, she sighed and crossed the room to wake the girl.

"Lily…" she said gently as she shook the red-haired girl. "Lily… time to wake up. You've got a train to catch."

At these words, Lily's eyelids flew open to reveal bright, emerald eyes. "What time is it?" Lily asked.

"Nine-thirty," her mother responded. "But don't worry. You packed your trunk last night. All you have to do is get dressed and eat some breakfast. Then we can get going and we'll still have plenty of time to get to the station. I'm going to go downstairs now. Don't go back to sleep – you hear me?" she warned her daughter, who was notorious for trying to sleep as long as possible.

"Yes Mum. Don't worry, I wouldn't be able to fall back to sleep today. I'm so excited!" she exclaimed as she hopped out of bed.

"Alright," her mother said with a laugh. "Come downstairs with your trunk once you're dressed."

"Okay Mum!" Lily Evans cried, pushing her mother out the door, eager to start her day.

* * *

At 9:30 on the dot, Severus Snape's alarm clock went off. He got out of bed quietly and dressed before going downstairs with his trunk. He headed to the kitchen. After getting a bowl of cereal, he sat down at the table, which was already occupied by his mother and father. They ate breakfast in silence. Around ten o'clock Severus stood up and brought his bowl to the sink.

Turning back around to the table he asked, "Can we go now? I'd like to get to the station a little early." Although he didn't say it out loud, he was hoping to meet Lily Evans at the station and sit with her on the train ride. His parents nodded their agreement. In silence, he led the way to the car. The silence was uncomfortable, but Severus knew his parents were doing their best to not ruin his first day of school with their usual fighting and he was grateful.

* * *

"Sirius Black, are you up yet?" a voice screeched up the stairs. "It's almost time to leave. If you miss the train it would serve you right!"

With a sigh, Sirius rolled over in his bed, his black hair sticking up all over the place. So typical of his mother to not even bother walking up the stairs to wake him. His clear blue eyes glanced at the clock. Ten o'clock! Geez, he was running late! Sirius quickly got out of bed and got dressed before hastily packing his trunk, throwing everything he needed into it sloppily. Then dragging his trunk behind his, he rushed down the stairs. He was met at the bottom of the stairs by his mother, her black hair hanging lank around her face.

"There's no time to eat anything anymore. Outside, now. We need to get going if you want to make the train. It would serve you right if you missed it, but I don't want to deal with you for another year."

"Fine," Sirius replied. He hadn't expected any differently. "But let me say goodbye to Reg."

"Quickly!" his mother shouted behind him as he rushed back up the stairs. Storming into his brother's room, he came to a halt when he saw the boy was still asleep. He turned to go back out quietly without waking him.

"Going to leave without saying good bye?" a sleepy voice asked from the bed.

"I thought you were still asleep. I didn't want to wake you." Sirius explained with a guilty grin.

"Sirius!" his mother called from below.

"It sounds like you need to go," said Regulus, his voice still half asleep.

"And it sounds like you need to go back to sleep." Sirius retorted.

"I will as soon as you leave. Have a great year at school. Make sure you end up in Slytherin and don't forget to write!" Regulus advised his older brother.

"Yeah, yeah, we'll see." Sirius said reluctantly. "I'll see you at Christmas!" He turned on his heel and rushed back down the stairs to his impatiently waiting mother. He was finally getting out of here.

* * *

**Author's Note: This is my first story, as well as my first chapter. I hope you liked it. I really want to improve as a writer, so if you could please click the review button and let me know what you thought, I'd be really grateful. Constructive criticism is always welcome. And it's always nice to know that someone liked what you wrote. ;)**

**Also, in case you're wondering, I'm going to try and make my story follow the books as much as possible, so there'll probably be quite a few characters and scenes that you'll recognize. I hope you like it!**

**Thanks!**


	2. 1st Year: Off to Hogwarts

**Disclaimer: Any characters that you recognize belong to J.K. Rowling, not me. I wish I had created them, but she is a much better writer and deserves the well-earned credit. In addition, the following scene with Lily and Petunia comes from ****Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.**** I didn't copy it word for word, but if you read the book you're sure to recognize it. Again, that scene totally belongs to J.K. Rowling.**

* * *

Lily arrived at King's Cross Station around 10:30 am, with her mother, father, and sister, Petunia. The witch who came to visit them from Hogwarts had explained how to find Platform 9 3/4. It gave all four members of the Evans family a bit of a shock to walk through a seemingly solid wall but now they were here, standing in front of the Hogwarts Express.

Lily's parents had already said good bye to Lily and were now standing off to the side, giving their daughters time to say good bye. However, Petunia was not being cooperative.

"I'm sorry Tuney, I really am! You know I would love for you to come with me!" Lily cried. "I'm sorry, Tuney, I'm sorry! Listen –" Lily reached for her sister's hand and held it tight, even as Petunia struggled to pull away. "Maybe once I'm there – no listen Tuney! Maybe once I'm there, I'll be able to go to Professor Dumbledore and persuade him to change his mind!"

"I don't – want – to – go!" Petunia said as she finally managed to drag her hand out of her sister's grasp. "You think I want to go to some stupid castle and learn to be a – a – "

Lily glanced around her as Petunia struggled to find the right word. She saw so many children standing with their parents, their trunks beside them. Some students held cats in their arms while others had owls waiting patiently in cages. The students all looked so different, some dressed in muggle clothes, others already changed into their black Hogwarts robes. Lily thought it was wonderful. She couldn't wait to get on the train and take part in this magical world!

Finally Petunia found the word she needed. " – You think I want to be a – a freak?"

Lily's eyes filled with tears at her sister's judgment of her newfound world. How could she not feel the same as Lily? Couldn't she see just how amazing and special this world was? "I'm not a freak. That's a horrible thing to say!"

"That's where you're going," said Petunia, gaining steam, "A special school for freaks. You and that Snape boy… weirdos, that's what you two are. It's good you're being separated from normal people. It's for our safety."

Lily glanced toward her parents, who were looking around the platform, drinking in the scene peacefully. As she looked back at Petunia, her voice was low and fierce. "You didn't think it was such a freak's school when you wrote to the headmaster and begged him to take you."

Petunia's face flushed in anger and embarrassment. "Beg? I didn't beg!"

Trying to make things better, Lily replied, "I saw his reply. It was very kind."

"You shouldn't have read –" whispered Petunia, "that was my private – how could you –?" Lily made the mistake of glancing towards Severus Snape, her neighbor and friend, who stood a little bit down the platform with his parents. Catching the glance, Petunia gasped. "That boy found it! You and that boy have been sneaking in my room!"

"No – not sneaking –" Lily said, trying to defend herself. "Severus saw the envelope, and he couldn't believe a Muggle could have contacted Hogwarts, that's all! He says there must be wizards working undercover in the postal service who take care of –"

"Apparently wizards poke their noses in everywhere! Freak!" spat Petunia as she flounced back to their parents. Dejectedly, Lily followed.

"You've said good bye girls?" Lily's mother asked.

"Something like that," Lily replied. She struggled to put a smile on her face for her parents. "Well, I'd best get on the train. Good bye Mum, good bye Daddy, I'll miss you!"

"And we'll miss you too sweetheart," Lily's father replied, giving his little girl one last hug good bye.

"Be good," Lily's mother said, taking her turn hugging Lily. "Stay safe, study and do well. We'll see you at Christmas. I love you darling!"

"I love you Mum, love you Dad," Lily hesitated before turning to her sister. She stepped forward quickly and hugged Petunia, releasing her before Petunia had the chance to shove her off. "Bye Tuney, I love you." Lily said quietly, her smile faltering. Reaching down, Lily picked up her trunk and headed toward the train quickly, hoping to find a compartment before she started crying. She glanced back to her parents and sister one last time, waving before she boarded the train.

* * *

The second Severus arrived at Platform 9 3/4, he looked around for Lily. Spotting her, he positioned himself so that he was near enough to keep her in sight, but allow her the privacy of saying good bye to her family. He stood there awkwardly with his parents, wishing they would leave already but knowing they wanted to see him onto the train.

From his distance, Severus could see Lily pleading with Petunia and wished he could go help, but knew that would only make things worse. It still hurt him to see Petunia pulled away from Lily, especially as a hurt look crossed Lily's face. Lily loved and adored Petunia but Petunia couldn't see that through her jealousy. Lily deserved better.

Having enough of the awkward silence from his parents, Severus turned around to say good bye to them. "I should probably go board the train now," Severus said. "I guess I'll see you soon."

"Have a good time at school son," Severus' father said, offering Severus his hand. Severus shook it firmly before turning to his mother.

"Bye Severus," she said quietly, giving her son a quick hug. "Learn a lot at school."

"I will," Severus replied to both. "Good bye." And with that, he hoisted up his trunk and turned to watch as Lily Evans boarded the Hogwarts Express. He moved to follow her but in that moment, the train's horn tooted a departure warning and the crowds of students and parents surged forward toward the train and Severus lost sight of her. Cursing himself, he entered the nearest train car. Once he was changed he would go find Lily.

* * *

Sirius Black was unceremoniously dropped off at King's Cross Station by his mother, who didn't even walk to Platform 9 3/4 with him.

"When you get into the station, find the barrier between Platforms 9 and 10. Walk straight at it – you won't actually run into it – and then you're through. It's that simple, even you should be able to figure it out. Now be a good boy. Make sure you're in Slytherin and do your best to cause trouble for some Gryffindors. Make your parents proud for once." And with that, Sirius' mother departed.

Sirius wasn't surprised. He was used to being the disappointment in the family. There had been his perfect older sister, Belvina, who had been in Slytherin, did everything her parents told her and then disappeared two years ago, after she got out of Hogwarts. And there was Regulus. Sirius loved that kid but he idolized everything his parents said and believed. No matter what Sirius did, he always seemed to disappoint his parents.

When he got his Hogwarts letter and his parents hadn't cared, Sirius had finally had enough of trying to meet their standards. No, he thought with an evil grin, he was going to try to be the exact opposite of everything they wanted. And that meant he was going to do his best to get into Gryffindor.

Satisfied with his decision to rebel against his parents' wishes, Sirius entered the station and walked confidently through the barrier. He stopped dead in his tracks as he crossed through to Platform 9 3/4. There were so many people. And the train was so magnificent. Since his parents held to certain pureblood beliefs, Sirius hadn't interacted with many wizards as a child. He could hardly believe that he was going to Hogwarts, where he could meet so many new people, where he could be whoever he wanted to be and do whatever he wanted to do. A smile lit up his face. He couldn't wait.

* * *

James Potter arrived Platform 9 3/4 a few seconds after Sirius Black. In fact, he ran into him on the platform. Literally. As Sirius halted to take in the sights, James ran through the barrier, running into Sirius and knocking him down.

"Uff!" Sirius grunted as he collapsed to the ground, James on top of him.

"Opps!" cried James, as he climbed off the boy. "I'm so sorry, I didn't see you! Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine," Sirius said, accepting the hand James offered. As he stood he added, "I probably shouldn't have stopped right in front of the barrier."

Before James could reply, his parents and Madeline came through the barrier, luckily not running into the two boys. "There you are James!" James' mother exclaimed. "I know you're excited but could you try not running off?"

"Sorry Mum," James replied, abashed.

"Wow…" Madeline whispered, looking around the platform. Her hazel eyes were wide as she took in the sight. "Mum, can I go with Jamesie? Please please please?"

"Not this year Maddie," her mother replied. "In a few years, when you're older, you can go with him."

Madeline's face dropped. Seeing this, James bent to her level. "Don't worry Maddie. Soon you'll be old enough to come with me. Until then though, you'll have Mum and Dad and the house all to yourself. I'm counting on you to make sure the house doesn't get too quiet. Can you do that?"

Madeline nodded. "Okay Jamesie. But you better not let Hogwarts get too quiet!" Everyone laughed as she stuck her thumb in her mouth and went back to looking around at her surroundings.

"Who's this young fellow?" James' father inquired of Sirius, who was quietly standing off to the side watching the exchange.

"Oh, this is…" James trailed off.

Cutting in, Sirius finished, "I'm Sirius, Sirius Black."

"I'm James Potter," James replied. Turning back to his parents with a guilty grin he added, "I accidentally ran into him and knocked him down when I came through the barrier."

"Well, we'll let you two boys get on the train, as I'm sure you're so eager to do." James' father said with a grin, ruffling his son's jet black hair, making it messier than it was before.

"Good bye James!" his mother said, tears coming to her eyes as she pulled her son in for one last hug. "Be good and don't forget to write!"

"Yes Mum," James responded obediently. "I'll see you at Christmas! Bye Mum, bye Dad!" He bent to his little sister's level once more. Opening his arms for a hug he said lovingly, "Bye Maddie, I'll see you soon!"

Maddie threw herself into her older brother's arms, wrapping her arms around him tight. "Bye-bye Jamesie!"

James tried to stand up, but Maddie wouldn't release him. "Umm, a little help please?" James asked his parents. Laughing, James' father pried Maddie's arms off her brother and swung her into his arms.

Straightening up, James grabbed his trunk and turned to Sirius. "Let's go Sirius!"

Sirius laughed at the boy's eagerness, "Alright, let's go!" With one last wave to his family from James, the two boys boarded the Hogwarts Express.

Back on the platform, James' parents looked at one another. As with all pureblooded families, they knew the Blacks and understood their affiliation with the Dark Arts. "Do you think James will be alright?" James' mother asked, worried.

"I trust James enough to make smart decision." James' father assured her. "Besides, from what I hear from Orion at work, his son Sirius is quite a disappointment. I wouldn't be surprised if Sirius ended up coming home with James at Christmas."

* * *

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	3. 1st Year: On the Train and Sorting

**Disclaimer: Any characters that you recognize belong to J.K. Rowling, not me. I wish I had created them, but she is a much better writer and deserves the well-earned credit. In addition, part of the scene in the train compartment/the sorting comes from ****Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.**** I didn't copy it word for word, but if you read the book you're sure to recognize it. Again, those parts totally belong to J.K. Rowling.**

Remus Lupin stood in the train corridor, peering into a nearly empty compartment. In the corner sat a red-haired girl who was silently crying. She had already changed into her robes and from the lack of house crest on her uniform he assumed she was a first year like him. While Remus had little experience in dealing with people, he thought he should try to comfort her.

He pushed open the compartment door and she looked up, tears still streaming down her face. "Are you okay?" he asked her, genuinely concerned.

Lily nodded. "I'll be alright. I just… it was hard to say good bye."

"Oh," said Remus, not quite sure what to say next. "Well, do you mind if I sit with you in this compartment?"

Lily shook her head. "Go ahead." She turned back to the window, tears still falling from her eyes though not as fast. Uncertain if he should try anything more, Remus gave up. He pulled a book from his trunk and then placed the trunk in the rack overhead. He was deeply immersed in the book when two black-haired, energetic boys entered the compartment.

"Hey, there's no other compartments open. Mind if we join you?" the boy with the hazel eyes inquired.

Remus glanced over at the girl. He was relieved to see that she was no longer crying, though her face still held the tell-tale signs of her tears. She shook her head again and he turned back to the boys. "That's fine, make yourselves comfortable."

"Thanks!" said the other boy, with blue eyes. "You have no idea how hard it was to find an un-full compartment. I'm Sirius Black and this is James Potter. You're a first year like us, right?"

"Yes," replied Remus, "I'm Remus Lupin." He tried to return to his book, only to be interrupted by James.

"What're you looking forward to most about Hogwarts?" he asked the sandy-haired boy.

"Probably the lessons. I'm so glad I have the opportunity to study magic at Hogwarts!"

"The lessons?" Sirius cried indignantly. "Who cares about the lessons? What about the food and pranking people? I heard the food there is great, and the beds are so comfy, and there are so many people to prank!"

"Prank? Really?" asked James with a glint in his eye. "I love to prank people! Usually drives my mother crazy."

"Mine too!" Sirius replied. "Hmm… I heard that we have to take boats across the lake to get to Hogwarts. It certainly seems like a nice night for someone to go for a swim."

"Excellent idea Sirius!" exclaimed James.

"I'm glad I'm present for the planning," Remus said nervously, "I don't think I would ever want to be on the receiving end of one of your pranks."

"No, you wouldn't," both boys said in unison, an evil glint in both sets of eyes.

As the boys began solidifying their plans – really, James and Sirius planning the details of the prank and Remus half-listening, half-reading – Severus finally found the compartment Lily was in.

Remus looked up as Severus opened the door, but the other two boys were too involved with their plans to notice. Remus watched as the greasy haired boy crossed the compartment to sit across from the girl with the tear-stained face. She glanced at the boy and then back out the window and Remus could see the sorrow on the boy's face when he saw she'd been crying.

"I don't want to talk to you," she said in a tight voice, tears coming to her eyes again.

"Why not?" Severus asked, clearly upset by her words and tears.

"Tuney h-hates me. Because we saw that letter from Dumbledore."

"So what?"

Lily threw Severus a look of deep dislike at his words, "So she's my sister!"

"She's only a –" Lily was too busy trying to wipe her eyes to notice Severus' slip up but Remus caught it. "But we're going!" Severus exclaimed, he voice growing excited, "This is it! We're off to Hogwarts!"

Lily gave a weak smile, still trying to dry her eyes. Remus watched carefully as Severus brightened at her smile. "You'd better be in Slytherin," Snape added.

This caught James' attention. "Slytherin? Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" he asked Sirius.

Sirius shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "My whole family have been in Slytherin," he said finally.

"Blimey," said James, "and I thought you seemed all right!"

To his surprise, Sirius started grinning. "Maybe I'll break the tradition. Where are you heading, if you've got the choice?"

James lifted an invisible sword. "'Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart!' Like my dad."

Severus could stay silent no longer as he made a small, disparaging noise.

James turned back to him. "Got a problem with that?"

"No," said Severus with a sneer, "If you'd rather be brawny than brainy –"

"Where're you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?" interjected Sirius.

James started laughing, confident that he had found himself a friend for life. Lily, however, sat up, looking from James to Sirius in dislike as they made fun of her friend.

"Come on, Severus, let's find another compartment."

"Oooooo…" James and Sirius tried to imitate her lofty voice and Remus watched on in silence. Severus led the way out of the compartment; James tried to trip him as he exited.

Lily followed but before she exited she threw one last glance to the sandy-haired boy who had tried to comfort her. She gave him a small smile before leaving. He had seemed nice. She really hoped her didn't get too friendly with those other two boys, they didn't seem as nice.

"See ya, Snivellus!" one of the two boys called as Lily slammed the compartment door shut.

Inside the compartment James turned to Sirius. "I think we just found our first victim…"

As the train arrived at Hogwarts, all the students rushed to exit onto the platform outside. Caught up in the rush of people and unwilling to lose her friend in the crowd, Lily reached for Severus' hand. It was an innocent gesture on her part, but nothing pleased Severus more than to be holding her hand.

"First years! First years, this was please!" a voice called out. Following the voice, Lily and Severus found themselves by the lake, in which a fleet of boats sat waiting. Standing there, waiting for all the first years was the witch who had come to Lily's house. Her name was Professor Emma Bones.

They waited for all the other first years to arrive. After a quick head count, Professor Bones herded all the first years into the boats. Lily and Severus ended up in a boat together, with another pudgy boy, while James, Remus, and Sirius were all in a boat together.

All the first years watched in silent amazement as Hogwarts appeared around the corner of the lake. It was a majestic sight, the magical castle with all its turrets and towers silhouetted against the night sky, its windows lit up in candlelight. Lily and Severus were still staring up at the castle when they reached the other side. James and Sirius, however, had come out of the trance in order to pull off their prank.

Right before Professor Bones could tell the first years to carefully exit the boats onto the lake shore, James and Sirius shot each other a look, raised their wands, and muttered a spell under their breaths.

The boat Severus and Lily were in suddenly tipped over, dumping them into the freezing cold lake. Lily shrieked in terror as she hit the cold water; Severus was too stunned to react. They waded to the shore as quickly as possible, teeth chattering. The pudgy boy followed, spluttering as he spat out water.

Professor Bones hopped out of her boat quickly, instructing all the other first years to be very careful in getting to shore, and rushed over to the soaking wet first years. She pulled out her wand and cast a drying spell and a warming spell on both students, fussing over them to make sure they were all right. Lily tried to calm the worried witch, assuring her that while they'd been surprised, wet, and cold, they were fine now. Less distracted, Severus noticed the triumphant high-five that passed between James and Sirius, his eyes narrowing. He really didn't like those boys…

Eventually the first years made it to the Great Hall. They were led down the center aisle by Professor McGonagall, nervously bunched together as all the other students stared at them.

Professor McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat on the stool at the front of the room and everyone fell silent. The Hat opened its mouth and started singing:

"Welcome back and welcome

Summer's gone and past.

School is back in session

Time never seems to last.

To those already sorted,

Each has a special place

Within their houses numbered four

Each has a special space.

Those in dear old Gryffindor,

Are true and brave at heart

Their daring, nerve, and chivalry

Set Gryffindors apart.

Those with sharp minds are Ravenclaws

Who always love to learn

Always seeking to know more

For knowledge always yearn.

As for those in Hufflepuff,

You'll always find your kind

Slow to judge and quick to please

No loyaler friends you'll find.

As for those sly Slytherins,

To each their very own

Powerful and mighty

Great talents they must hone.

Now try me on,

Don't worry and don't fret

I'll place you where you ought to be

No mistakes have I made yet."

Everyone applauded as Professor McGonagall unrolled her scroll and read off the first name. "Avery, Daren." A small black-skinned boy stepped forward as she placed the Hat on his head.

"Slytherin!" The Slytherin tabled exploded with applause as Daren took off the Hat and stepped towards the table. James saw a blond haired Slytherin prefect shaking hands with the boy. Daniel Baldock became the first Hufflepuff. Pricilla Barker joined Daren at the Slytherin table as Andrew Bennet became the first Ravenclaw.

Next was, "Black, Sirius." James crossed his fingers as Sirius stepped towards Professor McGonagall.

"Gryffindor!" James cheered loudly for his friend, who had a wide grin on his face. Severus also smiled, glad that he wouldn't have to deal with Black within his own house now.

Severus watched anxiously as the next few names were called, getting closer and closer to Lily. Finally, "Evans, Lily," was called. Lily stepped forward with shaking legs and sat down on the stool. Professor McGonagall placed the Hat on her head and seconds later it called, "Gryffindor!" Severus moaned as Lily hopped off the stool, giving the Hat back to Professor McGonagall.

Lily gave Severus a small sad smile as she headed towards the Gryffindor table. When she reached the bench, Sirius slid up a little to make room for her. Recognizing him as the boy from the train – but not realizing he had also caused her little accident earlier – she folded her arms and turned away from him.

She turned back to the Sorting in time to see Remus Lupin become the next Gryffindor. She smiled at him as he came to sit next to her, followed by Mary Macdonald, a blonde girl with blue eyes, and then Marlene McKinnon, a black-haired girl with dark brown eyes, and tan skin.

A few students later, Peter Pettigrew, a pudgy brunette boy with watery gray eyes, who had shared the boat with Lily and Snape, became the next Gryffindor, followed immediately by James Potter. Lily frowned, upset that she was in the same house as both him and Black. James was as happy as he could possibly be. Not only was he in his number one choice house, his newfound friend was also in his house!

Lily watched the Sorting, waiting for Severus' turn. As Alice Shaffer, a round faced girl with straight brown hair framing her face and her blue eyes, became a Gryffindor, Lily crossed her fingers. She was hoping against hope that he would join her in Gryffindor, although she knew it wasn't likely. Severus had told her of his family's past in Slytherin. While Black had made it into Gryffindor, he seemed to have wanted to be in that house while Severus definitely wanted to be in Slytherin.

Sure enough, when "Snape, Severus," was called, after a moment's hesitation, the Hat pronounced him, "Slytherin!"

Charlotte Webb, a freckle-faced girl with soft brown curls and hazel-green eyes became the last Gryffindor. The Sorting ended with Pauline Zambowski, a rather nasty-looking, pug-faced girl, becoming a Slytherin.

Professor Dumbledore stood up as the Hat was being taken away. "I know you are all anxious to begin eating so the announcements shall be saved for after the feast. Now let the feast begin!"

The empty platters on the tables filled with food and the students dug in. When the last plate was empty, the food disappeared and Professor Dumbledore stood up again. "Now that we are all properly fed and watered, I shall give the start of term announcements. To all first year students, the Forbidden Forest is, well, strictly forbidden. Magic is banned from the corridors, along with a long list of Zonko's products. The complete list may be viewed in Mr. Filch's office. Quidditch tryouts will be held next weekend. The times will be posted in your Common Rooms. If the prefects will now lead the students to their dormitories, you should all be off for a good night of rest before classes start tomorrow. Sleep well!"

**Author's Note: It may seem a little unrealistic that James and Sirius can do magic already, when they haven't been in any lessons yet. I figured that they both grew up in wizarding families and picked up enough magic over the years to be able to do some simple spells already.**

**And I know James and Sirius were talking about the prank in front of Lily, but she was too upset about Petunia to pay attention to what they were saying.**

**Please, please, please review! I'd really like to know what you think, even if it's just a thumbs up or thumbs down. If you review, let me know your name (or any name you choose) and your favorite house and I'll make you (or your name) a Quidditch player for that house, just in thanks for you reviewing! You know you want to... ;)**


	4. 1st Year: Settling In

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**UPDATED NOTE (October 24, 2010): To anyone who already read this chapter, I edited the section where Alice shares her history. _LilyxJames_ pointed out that Neville had been pureblood, which was why Voldemort chose to go after Harry, not Neville, so Alice needed to be pureblood. I'm working on the next chapter so I really hope I can update that soon!  


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**I'd like to say thanks to _LukeSkywaker278, cemaciver, LilyxJames, _and _madyb713. _Your reviews made my day, please keep reviewing!**

And is there a way to see reviews other than through your email? Just wondering.

Well, here it is, I hope you like it.

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Hi everyone. I'm sorry it took so long to update! I didn't really like how this chapter turned out, but it was a necessary one I felt.

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The level of noise increased as the students all stood up from their tables and began making their way out of the Great Hall. Lily heard a voice calling, "Gryffindor first years, come over here please!" Following the voice, Lily came to a pale, dark-haired boy. He waited patiently until all nine Gryffindor first years were gathered around him.

"Hi, my name is Edmund Crowden and I'm a Gryffindor prefect. I'm going to lead you to the dormitories. We just need to wait for my prefect partner to show up." As he spoke, another girl came running up to his side, her long brown hair a mess around her face.

"Sorry I'm late!" she said, pulling her hair up into a ponytail. "I needed to inform the second years of our new password."

"That's all right," Edmund replied, an amused smile on his face. Leaning in towards the first he whispered, "You should know, she's always late to everything." Straightening up, he sent a wicked smirk towards the girl.

With a laugh, she shoved him on the arm, "I am not always late you liar! I'm only late half the time!" She turned back to the first years, "My name is Anna Hutchings and I'm the other Gryffindor prefect. Both Edmund and I are fifth years. Unfortunately, I've known him all my life, not just five years."

Everyone laughed. "Well Anna's here now, so let's go to the dormitories!" Edmund exclaimed, leading the way out of the Great Hall.

After many staircases, hallways, and one hidden corridor, the students arrived at the Gryffindor common room. Edmund and Anna introduced the new students to the Fat Lady, then led the way into the common room. Once inside, Edmund and Anna silently stepped to the sides and allowed the first years to soak in the sight. There was a roaring fire going in the fireplace and the couches and chairs looked so comfy. There were a few students sitting on the couches, but most had gone upstairs already. The red and gold decorating the room made it seem warm and homey.

After a few minutes, Anna spoke up in a gentle voice. "As you know, this is the Gryffindor common room. If you're ready to go, I'll take you five girls up to your dormitory and Edmund can take the four boys up to theirs."

"Alright! Come on boys, let's go!" Edmund said, leading the way across the common room to the stairs. James and Sirius followed closely behind him, with Remus and Peter bringing up the rear.

As the boys disappeared up the stairs, Anna turned to the girls. "You girls ready to go upstairs?" she asked. They all nodded silently. "Follow me then," she said. She led the girls up the stairs, pausing outside their door. "This is your dormitory. I'll let you girls go in and get settled. If you need me, I'm in the fifth year dormitories. Feel free to come find me if you ever need help. Edmund will be more than willing to help you too. Good night girls!" She disappeared up the stairs, off to her own dormitories.

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The girls entered their dormitory, pleased to find their belongings already there. Lily glanced around. The silence was uncomfortable, but she didn't want to be the first to speak. The other girls all seemed to feel this same. The tan, black-haired girl finally spoke up. "Geez, the silence is so uncomfortable!" The girls all laughed. "Why don't we introduce ourselves and say something about us. I'll start. My name is Marlene McKinnon. I'm the oldest of five kids and while I'm glad to have finally get away from my crazy house – I love it, but it can be overwhelming at times – I don't think I'll ever be able to have my own bedroom."

Laughing, another girl spoke up. She had a round face, but it was cheerful and open. Her straight brown hair fell to about her shoulders and her blue eyes were shining brightly. "Hi, my name is Alice Shaffer and I have one younger brother, Shaun. I'm pureblood, but I grew up knowing nothing about the wizarding world. I only found out when I got me letter to Hogwarts!"

"If you're pureblood, how did you not know about the wizarding world?" Marlene questioned.

Alice's smile disappeared. "My mom, who was a witch, died soon after my brother was born. I guess my father just couldn't bring himself to tell us about this world, in case we couldn't end up part of it. He didn't know if we needed to grow up around our mother's magic in order to be magical ourselves. He's a Squib, so while he knows all about the wizarding world, he can't do any magic himself. He was so happy when I got my letter, and that's when I found out about my parents's world."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Marlene said, bringing her hand up to cover her mouth. "I wouldn't have asked if I had known!"

"No, that's all right." Alice reassured her. "You would have all found out eventually and it's probably best for you to know from the start."

Another girl spoke up quietly from her bed, her blond hair hiding her face. "Yeah, I should tell you that both of my parents are dead. I never knew them." Alice quickly got up from her bed and crossed over to the girl, giving her a big hug.

"I'm sorry. I know how it feels to lose one parent. I can't imagine not having my dad!"

"Thanks," the girl said with a shrug. She glanced up at everyone, her blue eyes shining. "I grew up in a nice enough orphanage. It was actually a wizarding orphanage, but in France. Everyone there thought I would go to Beauxbaton's, so we were shocked when I got a letter to Hogwarts. I have a few really good friends there. I was sad I had to leave them, but I think going to Hogwarts will be worth it. Oh, and my name is Mary Macdonald."

"I'm sorry you had to leave your friends Mary…" Lily consoled her. Her bright green eyes lit up as she added, "And I hope it's worth it! My name's Lily Evans, I'm muggleborn, and soooo excited to be here! I actually found out about this world before I got my letter. Sev told me all about it."

"Who's Sev?" Marlene inquired.

"His full name is Severus Snape. He lives near me and he told me all about Hogwarts after he saw me accidentally doing magic one day. He came to Hogwarts with me this year, but he got sorted into Slytherin." Lily responded, her face darkening slightly.

"Oh…" Marlene responded. Growing up in a pureblood family, she knew nothing good would come of this but she kept her mouth shut, hoping that she would be proved wrong.

An awkward silence seemed to fall for a moment before the final girl spoke up.

"Well, that leaves me. My name is Charlotte Webb. I'm also muggleborn and, like Lily, I'm really excited to be here! I'm an only child and my parents are always at work, so I get really lonely when I'm at home. Here I can learn magic and make friends and have a great time!" Her brown hair curled gently as her freckled face and hazel-green eyes flushed with excitement.

All the girls fell silent for a moment, taking in what they had learned about each other. Alice spoke up again, "Classes start tomorrow morning. We should get some sleep so we're not tired tomorrow. Good night everyone!"

A chorus of good night's answered her as each girl changed into their pajamas and climbed into their beds, quickly falling asleep.

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Up in the boys' dormitory, Edmund had shown the four boys their room and then headed off to his dormitory, letting them know to come to him or Anna for anything they needed.

James glanced up at his roommates and then turned to the pudgy brown-haired boy lingering on the edge. "Hi, my name is James Potter," he pointed at Sirius, "This guy here is Sirius Black and," pointing at Remus, "this is Remus Lupin. What's your name?"

"I'm Peter Pettigrew," the boy said nervously. "And before you ask, I think I'm muggleborn – my dad took off before I was born – and I only found out about Hogwarts when I got my letter. I'll probably be behind in all the classes."

"That's fine," said James. "We don't care what type of blood you have. And it doesn't make a difference that you don't know magic. Tons of kids don't."

"But you were able to do magic…" Peter said.

"Yes, well, we're special!" Sirius exclaimed with a laugh. "I grew up in an pureblood-wizarding family and I picked up some magic over the years. I'll probably be ahead of the class, as will James. He also grew up in a wizarding family."

"Yeah, Sirius is right," Remus jumped in to assure Peter, "I grew up around my parents who are both magical – they were both muggleborn – and they were very strict about not teaching me any magic until I was old enough to go to Hogwarts. I'm looking forward to learning all about magic, but I don't know any magic yet."

Peter looked relieved and he started feeling more comfortable, until James asked him, "What's your favorite Quidditch team?"

"Uhm… What's Quidditch?" Peter asked hesitantly.

James yelped. "You don't know what Quidditch is?"

"Calm down," Sirius interjected. "The boy just said he didn't know anything about magic before getting his letter. You can't expect him to know everything about our world right away. Why don't you explain it to him?"

James, muttering under his breath, "Not know about Quidditch… How can you not know about Qudditch..?... Best sport in the world… Can't believe it…" stopped at Sirius' suggestion.

"Okay!" Without another world of encouragement, James launched into a description of his favorite sport in the world.

Sirius glanced over at Remus who shrugged. He watched as Remus turned away and changed into his pajamas before climbing into his bed with a book. He didn't understand why that kid liked to read so much, but pajamas and bed seemed like a very good idea. Leaving James to it, Sirius readied himself for bed and then climbed onto his own bed. It was so nice and comfy… He could stay here forever… James should really try it… James! Sirius's head snapped up to look at James and Peter. Peter was struggling to keep up, seeming quite overwhelmed. Completely oblivious, James was plowing on animatedly about Quidditch.

"James…" Sirius said tentatively. He was ignored. "JAMES!"

"What?" James asked, pausing for the first time.

"It's getting late. Peter's probably tired and doesn't want to hear all the minute details of Quidditch. Besides, these beds are awesome and you need to try them!"

"Fine…" James said disappointedly. He sank down onto his bed. "Wow, you're right!" Sitting up he shot a look towards Sirius. "I bet you can't jump from your bed to mine…"

"You're on!" Sirius exclaimed. Peter looked from bed to bed. Shaking his head, he got into his pajamas and climbed into bed. Settling down, he watched James and Sirius jumping from James's bed to Sirius's. And so it continued until all four boys fell asleep, completely exhausted.

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**Author's Note: I'm sooo sorry it took me so long to update! I really wanted to update this story about once a week, but time got away from me. In somewhat of an explanation, I'm a junior in high school, taking 3 AP classes (college level classes) and taking Spanish and Chinese. Plus I have a ton of after school/weekend activites in addition to homework. I'm really trying to take time to write, but when I have no extra time, it's not easy.**

**I really didn't like writing this chapter. For me it was a really boring chapter, but it gives a background to all the characters, so I thought it was necessary. I hope you liked it. NOW PLEASE GO REVIEW! The offer still stands that if someone reviews, I'll make them a Quidditch player with name/team of their choice.**

**Thanks everyone!**


	5. 1st Year: Quidditch Tryouts

_LilyxJames_ – Thanks for the reviews! I actually checked out Alice's last name. According to this website Molly Weasley was actually Molly Prewett, not Alice. Alice had no maiden name, so I made one up on my own. This site is interesting, check it out! .org/wiki/List_of_Harry_Potter_characters

_Blondebunny55_ – You'll definitely be a Hufflepuff Quidditch player, but I didn't want to write about all the tryouts so you'll have to wait until Gryffindor plays Hufflepuff!

Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed, your reviews made my day! And even more thanks to everyone who waited patiently for me to update! I'm sorry it took so long, but school and yearbook seem to have taken over my life. Yay for Thanksgiving Break! I'm really hoping to have another chapter up before Monday, but we'll see. If there are any errors in here, I apologize. I was trying to get this written quickly so I could update asap. Enjoy!

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The first week at school passed uneventfully. All the students adjusted to life at Hogwarts, some more happily than others. Lily and Severus were extremely happy to discover that Gryffindors and Slytherins had multiple classes together; James and Sirius were not quite so happy.

The weekend arrived with some relief, everyone happy to have free time and a chance to sleep in. Friday evening Lily suggested that they get their homework done right away and then have the entire weekend to relax and explore the castle. The other girls agreed. They spent Saturday wandering the castle, befriending the portraits and searching for the quickest routes to classes. Sunday afternoon, they decided to head to the Quidditch pitch to watch the Gryffindor tryouts. Mary decided she would rather spend the afternoon reading in the common room, which was sure to be quiet, so after lunch she returned to the Gryffindor common room as the other four girls made their way down to the Quidditch pitch.

They arrived just as the tryouts were starting. Never having heard of Quidditch before, Lily, Charlotte, and Alice watched in amazement as all the hopeful students mounted their brooms and began warming up. Just as tryouts for beaters began, Anna entered the stadium. All four girls waved to her and she returned the wave. She looked around, then began to make her way over to them.

"Hi girls," she greeted them warmly. "Enjoying your first weekend? Where's Mary?"

"Oh yes!" Alice spoke up. "Lily _insisted_ we get our homework done on Friday, so we spent yesterday exploring the castle and then today we came to watch tryouts -!"

"That's not fair!" Lily interrupted, "All of you thought it was a good idea! And Mary's up in the common room, reading."

Everyone laughed. Anna spoke, "It was a very good idea Lily. It's a smart habit to get into. None of my friends were able to come down here today because they didn't do their homework on Friday – or yesterday – so now they're stuck in the library while I'm down here!"

"See?" Lily said, sticking out her tongue at the other girls, "Some day you'll thank me."

"I'm sure we will," Marlene said, pacifying Lily. "Now can we please watch the tryouts?"

"How is Quidditch played?" Charlotte inquired.

Marlene took one look at the curious looks on her friends' faces and sighed. "That's right, I forgot that you don't know anything about Quidditch." Without any more introduction, Marlene began explaining the basic rules and positions of Quidditch with Anna helping her.

"That boy there, the black haired boy, trying out for Beater right now is Benjy Fenwick. He's a second year. No first years are allowed on the house teams," Anna explained. "The other beater is Mady Dailey. She's a seventh year and she's been on the team since her fourth year. It would be interesting if Benjy became beater. Normally beaters are around the same age. They seem to work better together that way. But if you watch, even though Benjy is the youngest one out there, he can fly fairly well and he's got remarkable aim. I'd be surprised if Thomas doesn't pick him. The other two potential beaters aren't nearly as good. That kid's got potential."

"What does a beater do? And who is Thomas?" Alice questioned.

"They fly around hitting bludgers towards the other team and protecting our team from getting hit by bludgers," Marlene stated. "And bludgers are balls magically bewitched to fly around trying to knock players off their brooms."

"And Thomas is the team's captain, Thomas Wood. He's the seeker. My sister, Kayla, is dating him," Anna added.

Marlene continued the explanation. "Before you ask, the seeker is the player with the power to end the game. They have to fly around searching for the Golden Snitch. If they catch the Snitch, their team gets an extra 150 points and the game ends. Usually those 150 points are enough to help that team win the game."

"How does the team score points otherwise?" Lily asked.

Marlene began to answer, "Well – oh wait, Benjy just got chosen as the beater. Now they're moving on to chaser tryouts, brilliant. These people are all trying out to be the team's third chaser. The chasers work together to score through one of those three hoops on the field. They score with the Quaffle. Every time a chaser scores, their team gets ten points. But there's a keeper – the last position they're holding tryouts for – who defends the hoops from the other team's chasers."

"Yes. We need a new keeper. Our keeper last year was amazing, but then they had to go and graduate. We also need a new chaser. Our other two chasers are Edmund and Laura Hutchings, a sixth year. They work really well together so it's important to find someone who will fit in with them."

"Why don't you play Quidditch Anna?" Charlotte wondered.

"Quiddtich players have a tendency to get hurt and I'd much rather keep both feet firmly on the ground. I've never really enjoyed flying."

"Well I love flying!" Marlene exclaimed. "I can't wait until flying lessons!"

"It certainly looks like fun," agreed Charlotte.

"No thanks," Lily disagreed. "Flying might be fun but there's no way I would ever want to play Quidditch. It looks so dangerous!"

"But that's what makes it fun!" Marlene argued back.

"What about you Alice?" Anna asked the girl, who'd been quiet for a while now.

Alice gave a little jump in her seat and began blushing. Anna glanced at the field. A brunette boy was trying out for chaser at the moment, his hair glistening in the sunlight. His gray-blue eyes were concentrated but excited. When she saw who was trying out for chaser, she began to grin, looking back at Alice knowingly.

"That's Frank Longbottom," Anna said with a smile. "He's a second year. Awfully cute, isn't he Alice?"

Alice's blush deepened as the other girls started laughing. "Oh shut up…" she mumbled under her breath.

As Frank was chosen as the team's new chaser, the girls began to tease her.

"Alice, you should go congratulate him!" Charlotte suggested.

"I bet she'd play Quidditch just to meet him…" Marlene suggested evilly.

"Aw, Alice has a crush, Alice has a crush!" Lily sang.

"I do not have a crush on him!" Alice exclaimed. "That's the first time I ever saw him. Shut up!"

Laughing, the girls decided to cut their friend some slack. "Alright Alice, we'll believe you. For now…" Lily smirked.

Down on the field, tryouts were finishing as a pretty Asian girl was chosen as the team's new keeper.

"Oh look, that girl just got chosen as keeper, that means tryouts are over. Let's go back to the castle and get dinner!" Alice said in a rush, hoping to change the subject.

"Okay!" Charlotte agreed, "Anna, who is that girl?"

"That would be Lynne Korman. She's a third year," Anna answered, standing and stretching. "I'm going to go meet Edmund on the field, but you girls have a good time at dinner!"

She headed off towards the field as the other girls exited the stadium. All the way up to the castle they discussed Quidditch, until they reached the entrance hall.

Severus was waiting awkwardly outside the doors to the Great Hall. Lily stopped what she was saying mid-sentence when she saw her friend waiting for her. "Hi Sev!" she cried, running ahead of her friends to give him a hug.

"Hi Lily," he responded as he returned the hug. "I was wondering… if maybe you'd want to eat dinner with me tonight? I mean, I know we can't sit at the same tables, but I found the kitchens and thought that maybe you'd want to eat there with me?" Severus spoke quickly; he seemed nervous that she would say no.

"Of course I'd like to!" Lily answered beaming. As the other girls caught up to her, Lily spoke to them. "Alice, Charlotte, Marlene, this is Severus. I know we had classes with him already, but I didn't have the chance to introduce you to each other. Sev, this is Alice, Charlotte, and Marlene." Each girl waved as she said their name. "I'm going to go eat dinner with Sev. He says he knows where the kitchens are."

"Okay Lily. We'll see you later then," Alice said to her.

Lily turned and walked away with Severus, completely missing the uneasy look on Marlene's face. However, the other two girls didn't miss it.

"Marlene, is something wrong?" Charlotte asked tentatively.

"I'm not sure," Marlene said.

"Then why do you look so bothered?"

"Let's go get dinner and I'll explain as we eat."

"Okay!" Alice agreed, leading the way into the Great Hall.

Once seated with food on their plates, Marlene began explaining. "Right now nothing's wrong. I have an uneasy feeling about Lily's friendship with Sev though. Slytherins… well, I won't say that all Slytherin's are evil, but there wasn't a witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin. And there's been whispers, that there's one wizard from Slytherin who's gone bad and is – at this very moment – building strength and gathering followers. My parents have spoken of this wizard. They didn't want me knowing, but I heard them talking about it when they thought I wasn't around. It might turn out to be nothing, but I'm still worried."

"I've heard things like that too," a voice interjected. The three girls jumped. They hadn't realized anyone had come over. Standing next to them was the black-haired, hazel-eyed boy in their year. Behind him stood the other three boys.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. I'd thought we should come over and introduce ourselves properly, and then I overheard what you were talking about and yeah…" he trailed off awkwardly. "Well, I'm James Potter. Do you mind if we join you?"

The girls looked at the four boys standing there, a bit uncomfortably. Looking at each other they shrugged. "We'd love for you to join us," Alice said with a welcoming smile. "I'm Alice Shaffer, though you may already know that since we have all our classes together," she added as they all ay down.

"Yes, but we haven't introduced ourselves to each other, so it still works." James explained. "Like this here is Peter Pettigrew." Peter waved.

The sandy-haired boy spoke up, "I'm Remus Lupin." Gesturing towards the black-haired boy to his left who was already stuffing his face he added, "And this is Sirius Black."

"Hewwo!" Sirius said through a mouthful of food.

"Hi! I'm Marlene McKinnon."

"And I'm Charlotte Webb."

"Well now we've all been properly introduced. Except…" James trailed off. "Aren't there two more of you?"

"Oh yeah, there's Lily Evans – the red-head – she went to eat dinner in the kitchens with her friend Severus." As Marlene explained, a slightly guilty look passed between James, Sirius, and Remus, but it quickly disappeared. "And then there's Mary Macdonald. She went up to the common room earlier to read and I'm not sure where she is right now."

"Were you talking about Lily before we interrupted?" James asked.

"Yeah, we were." Charlotte replied. "Marlene was explaining why she didn't feel completely comfortable with Lily spending time with Severus."

"You mean besides the fact that Gryffindors and Slytherins hate each other?" Sirius exclaimed, having swallowed the moment before.

"Yes, besides that. You said you'd heard of the rumors too James?" Marlene questioned.

"Yeah. My dad's an Auror and I've occasionally overheard him talking to my mom about some dark wizard. From the sounds of it, he used to be a student here, a Slytherin. He doesn't seem to be too much of a threat, but the Ministry's keeping an eye on him, just in case."

Remus jumped into the conversation. "So you're worried that just because some other bad wizard came from Slytherin, Severus and Lily shouldn't be friends?"

"That's not what I said exactly…" Marlene said uncomfortably. "I'm not going to say anything to Lily – and don't any of you! – but I have some gut feeling that something's wrong here."

"What's wrong is that he's slimy Slytherin and he's friends with a girl who's a muggleborn!" Sirius stated.

"Marlene… I don't think you should get too worried. I'm sure Lily will be fine. She's known this kid for a long time and I'm sure she knows by now what he's like. Be wary if you like, but don't let Lily notice your worries." Charlotte cautioned.

"I know," Marlene reassured her. "You girls asked so I explained my worries. That's all. Let's change the subject."

"Did you girls watch the Quidditch tryouts?" James asked eagerly.

"Why yes, we did," Marlene responded with a sly smile towards Alice, who blushed again.

The conversation moved quickly from there, including talk of Quidditch, exploring the castle, and their classes, carrying them from dinner in the Great Hall up to their common room, where they were still sitting talking when Lily returned from dinner.

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Please, please, please review! Those reviews make me really happy and eager to keep writing because I know some people are actually reading and enjoying my story. The Gryffindor Quidditch team is set, but if you haven't already and would like to be a Quidditch player for one of the other teams, let me know a name and a position and I'll see what I can do. Thank you!


	6. 1st Year: Dinner with Sev

Hi everyone! This update was definitely much sooner than the last one, and hopefully I can keep up with this update rate, though who knows with the holidays coming up. I promise I'll update at least two more chapters before Christmas though!

LilyxJames - Thanks! And surprisingly, that's a total coincidence. Maybe my subconscious knew what it was doing but I wasn't even aware that I had named her Charlotte Webb, like the book. Haha, great connection making though!

madyb713 - Thanks for the review! You have know idea how much that makes _me_ smile! =) I'm glad you like it so far!

Disclaimer: Any character you recoginze belongs to J.K. Rowling, except for Charlotte Webb, who I made up but I suppose credit should still go to E.B. White. Any character you don't recognize though, I made up. Enjoy! :D

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**Last chapter:**

_"Hi Sev!" she cried, running ahead of her friends to give him a hug._

_"Hi Lily," he responded as he returned the hug. "I was wondering… if maybe you'd want to eat dinner with me tonight? I mean, I know we can't sit at the same tables, but I found the kitchens and thought that maybe you'd want to eat there with me?" Severus spoke quickly; he seemed nervous that she would say no._

_"Of course I'd like to!" Lily answered beaming. "Alice, Charlotte, Marlene, this is Severus. I know we had classes with him already, but I didn't have the chance to introduce you to each other. Sev, this is Alice, Charlotte, and Marlene." Each girl waved as she said their name. "I'm going to go eat dinner with Sev. He says he knows where the kitchens are."_

_"Okay Lily. We'll see you later then," Alice said to her._

_Lily turned and walked away with Severus, completely missing the uneasy look on Marlene's face…_

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"So where are the kitchens Sev?" Lily asked her friend as they walked away from the Great Hall.

"You'll see," Serverus replied with a smile. "It's a surprise." He matched his stride to hers. He had let out a sigh of relief when she readily agreed to join him for dinner. He didn't know why, but he was nervous that he would lose her. He had never considered the possibility of Lily being sorted into a different house, but it had happened. "So where have you been all weekend? I looked for you but just now was the first time I could find you."

"I've been spending time getting to know the other girls. We all did our homework on Friday, so that we could have the weekend to do whatever we liked."

"Let me guess," Sev said with a teasing smile, "You made all the other girls sit down and get their homework done right away?"

"Always jumping to assumptions aren't you?" Lily retorted.

"That means you did," he remarked.

"Yes," she relented. "They weren't all for the idea, but they liked it well enough when we were able to spend the weekend messing around!"

Sev laughed. "I knew it. Oh – Lily! Wait a second!" He reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her back a few steps. "We just walked past the stairs we need."

Still holding her hand, Sev led her over to a staircase Lily had never seen before. They descended in silence, Lily memorizing her surroundings so she could find her way back to the kitchens anytime she liked, and Sev enjoying the feel of Lily's hand in his. At the bottom of the staircase was a circular room, with a single portrait or a fruit bowl hanging on the wall. Sev dropped Lily's hand in order to reach up to the painting and tickle the pear. With a giggle, the portrait swung open and Sev led the way into the kitchen.

Lily glanced around in amazement at all the odd-looking creatures, dressed in togas with large, round eyes and pointed, bat-like ears. The creatures were busily bustling around a high-ceiling room that mimicked the Great Hall, placing dishes on the tables and taking off others. One creature, noticing Lily and Severus, broke away from the swarm and came over. Bowing, he addressed them in a high-pitched voice.

"Good evening, sir and miss, how can Tilly be helping you?"

There was a pause while Severus and Lily glanced at each other, unsure what to do. Noticing their uncertainly, he spoke up in another helpful attempt.

"Would you be liking Tilly to bring you a little bit of everything for tonight's dinner?"

Relieved, Severus was quick to say, "Yeah, that's be great," and the curious creature rushed off to get them some food.

"Let's go sit over at that table, why don't we?" asked Severus, leading the way.

As they seated themselves, Lily leaned over the table and whispered to Severus in a low voice, "Sev, what are these creatures?"

"These? These are house-elves," he replied. "Hogwarts has the largest population I've ever heard of. Most old, rich wizarding families have a house-elf. They are bound to serve the family, doing anything the family wishes them to do."

"Oh…" Lily said, glancing around her, lost in thought.

Tilly soon arrived with their food and dinner passed quickly with Lily and Severus discussing their first week at Hogwarts. Too soon, Lily and Severus needed to return to their respective common rooms, so they each headed their separate ways.

* * *

Lily returned to the Gryffindor common room to find Alice, Charlotte, and Marlene sitting on the rug by the fire, joined by two of the four Gryffindor boys in their year. Charlotte glanced up as she walked in and waved her over. Lily hesitated, remembering how they had treated Severus on the train, but knew she didn't have a good enough reason to not at least go over and say hi.

She made her way over to them and plopped down on the rug beside her friends. "Hi!"

"Hi Lily! How was dinner?" Marlene inquired.

"It was fun. I got to see the kitchens, and I learned what house-elves are, and I got to spend time with Sev!"

"That's great," Alice said, a little anxious to change the topic, especially after the conversation they had just had over dinner. "Lily, this is James Potter and Sirius Black." Each boy waved lazily as she said their name. "Peter and Remus headed up to their rooms when we got back from dinner, and I haven't seen Mary since before Quidditch."

"Okay," said Lily with a yawn. "I'm going to go up to bed. I'm kind of tired and I want to read a little before going to sleep."

"Sure thing," Alice said. "Good night Lily!"

"Good night everyone," Lily said.

A chorus of "Good nights!" followed her up the stairs and into her dormitory.

Mary was up there, asleep on her bed, with a book lying open next to her. Quietly, so as not to wake her, Lily got herself changed for bed, then climbed into her own warm four-poster bed and pulled her book towards her off her night stand. Before she was even done with a chapter Lily had fallen asleep, her dreams mixed with house-elves flying on brooms, long tables in the kitchens filled with boys looking like James and Sirius, and Severus holding her hand, leading her down a flight of stairs.

* * *

Downstairs, as soon as Lily's vibrant red hair disappeared, James and Sirius broke into speech.

"She's seriously best friends with that slimy-haired git?" Sirius exclaimed. "I don't like him."

"I don't either," agreed James.

"And why not?" Charlotte questioned them.

The two 11-year-old boys looked stumped for a minute, then:

"His hair is greasy."

"He is in Slytherin and wants to be there!"

Charlotte shook her head. "But you don't actually know him?"

"No!" said James emphatically. "And I don't want to ever know him."

"So you're going to judge him without ever getting to know him?" Alice asked.

"Well you see," Sirius began, "There are just some people you know you're not supposed to like. Like my family!"

Marlene looked at the stubborn looks on James' and Sirius' faces. "I don't think you can change their minds," she interjected. "It's best to let this go for now."

Sirius looked imploringly at her, "But you know what I mean, don't you?" he whined.

"Yes, I do," Marlene admitted.

Alice faked a huge yawn at that moment. "Boy, am I tired. I want to go to sleep. How about you Charlotte?"

Catching on, Charlotte yawned too. "Yup, I'm ready to go to sleep. Come on Marlene, let's go to bed. Good night Sirius, James."

After a round of "Good nights," the two girls stood up quickly and headed to the stairs. At the bottom, they paused and glanced back, to make sure Marlene was coming. They headed up the stairs as they saw her begin to head their way.

Marlene had just begun climbing the stairs when she heard Sirius say to James, "His hair is rather greasy… What do you suppose we help him wash it out a little?" Marlene shook her head and continued climbing. She'd love to help them prank him, but tonight was not the night.

* * *

Well, I hope you all liked this chapter, even though it's shorter than normal. Also, I know I want to go through all 7 years of Hogwarts, and then until Lily & James' death. I've got a rough idea of the story outline, but filler ideas, like pranks, relationships, etc. are not all set, so any suggestions are more than welcome, though I can't guarantee I'll use all of them. Please, please, please review & I'll try to update soon!


	7. 1st Year: Potions Prank

**AN: Surprisingly, I don't have much to say. If you see anything you recognize, it doesn't belong to me. Here's the next chapter, enjoy! (And please review!)**

**_

* * *

Last chapter:_**

_Marlene had just begun climbing the stairs when she heard Sirius say to James, "His hair is rather greasy… What do you suppose we help him wash it out a little?"_

* * *

The following two days passed uneventfully and Marlene began to think she had been imagining things Sunday evening. Wednesday morning found the Gryffindor and Slytherin first years together in potions class.

"Now class," Professor Slughorn began, "We will be making a simple colui abeo potion today, as I mentioned last week. Who can tell me what this potion does?"

To no one's surprise, both Lily and Severus, sitting in the front row, raised their hands. After just a week and a half of lessons, Professor Slughorn had declared the two of them naturals. But to everyone's surprise, both Sirius and James, seated directly behind Severus and Lily, had their hands in the air too. While the two boys were far from dumb, they certainly were not the most studious students in the class.

Pleasantly surprised, Professor Slughorn called on James to answer.

"The potion changes the color of whatever it touches."

"Correct and can you tell me what color the object changes to?"

"It's up to you. You choose a flower petal and whatever color that petal is, that's what color the potion changes things to."

"Excellent," Professor Slughorn agreed, "Five points to Gryffindor. Yes, I have a variety of flower petals here. Simply choose your favorite and away you go. Instructions are on page ten, feel free to ask me any questions you might have. You may begin."

* * *

As the end of class neared, a variety of colored vapors began to form, creating a haze throughout the classroom. A black vapor rose from Severus' potion. Lily's potion issued an emerald green, reminiscent of her eyes. James' potion was a deep red, obviously resembling the Gryffindor red. Sirius' potion was a surprising hot pink, but as Sirius stirred it carefully, he shot a grin at James.

Soon enough, Professor Slughorn was calling ten minutes to the end of class. Students began to cross the room as they cleaned up the messes on their desks. In the confusion, James passed in front of Lily and Severus' desk, accidentally knocking over a jar full of dead beetles, which spilled all over Severus and onto to floor behind him.

"Opps, I'm so sorry!" James exclaimed with a smirk. "I'm so clumsy."

Severus glared at James as he bent over to pick up the beetles. "I'm sure you're sorry Potter."

Perfect. James flashed Sirius a thumbs up and Sirius stood, stretching his arms in a yawn, his right arm dangerously close to his potion.

"Here, I'll help you clean it up Sev," Lily said as she bent down to help him.

James signaled frantically to Sirius to stop, but it was too late. Eyes closed, still stretching, his mouth wide open as he yawned, Sirius' arm bumped into his cauldron. James watched in horror as the cauldron tipped over, spilling its pink contents over the edge of the desk and straight on Lily and Severus' heads.

"Black!" Severus yelled, furiously, standing up and reaching for his wand. In doing so, the potion trickled down from his hair, onto his face and clothes. Lily had enough sense to freeze, leaving the potion to soak her hair.

Professor Slughorn bustled over to investigate as he soon as he heard the yell. There was Severus, completely soaked by Sirius's potion as his hair, face and clothes turned in pink. Lily was there, crouched on the ground with pink hair, surrounded by dead beetles. James was in front of the desks looking horror-struck and Sirius was still next to his seat, opening his eyes with a look of victory.

"Evanesco," Professor Slughorn said firmly, pointing his wand towards Sirius' desk. The potion that was spilled on the desk disappeared, leaving anywhere it had touched pink. The potion that had fallen on Lily and Severus disappeared too. Lily stood up furiously. When Sirius saw her, his look of victory disappeared, replaced by horror and a twinge of fear. He had never intended to prank a fellow Gryffindor and she looked pissed.

"Lily, are you okay? I am so sorry!" Sirius rushed to apologize.

Professor Slughorn interrupted. "And what about Severus?"

Sirius looked at his shoes and muttered, "Sorry Snape." Looking anything but pacified, Severus stowed away his wand.

"How did this happen?" Professor Slughorn questioned, looking at Sirius.

"Potter knocked over my beetles, then Black knocked over his cauldron so that it spilled all over me!"  
"That's not true sir!" Sirius argued, "James accidentally knocked over the beetles while walking by, and I happened to knock over my potion while I was yawning. I guess we're both having a clumsy day." He finished with a sheepish look.

Unconvinced, Professor Slughorn issued Sirius a detention, gave James a warning, and instructed them to clean up the mess.

Lily spoke up, "Sir, how do we get ourselves un-pink?"

"I'm sorry Evans, but there is no way to get it off. You must wait 24 hours for the potion to wear off, then wash it off."

Lily and Severus' mouths dropped in horror but James and Sirius showed no surprise; they had known that from their research.

As Professor Slughorn dismissed the class, Lily quickly gathered up her supplies. With a curt, "I'll see you later," to Sev, she stalked off without a glance back.

Severus' eyes shot daggers at James and Sirius, but knew now was not the time for retaliation. "You'll regret this," he muttered under his breath as he too left the classroom.

Under Professor Slughorn's calculating gaze, James and Sirius dared not converse as they quickly cleaned up and then headed to lunch.

Once in the corridor they exchanged high fives. "We did it mate!" exclaimed Sirius, "We got Snivellus!"

"We also got Lily," James reminded him, but even he couldn't keep the victorious grin off his face.

"Yeah, well, we didn't tell her to help out Snape. Besides, the detention will make up for it. Race you to the Great Hall!"

James didn't look convinced, but he put it out of his mind as he took off after his best friend.

"No fair! You got a head start!"

* * *

Severus glared at Potter and Black. Even if Professor Slughorn believed them, he knew the truth. Those two jerks had done it on purpose and they weren't the least bit sorry. He swore to get them back but as Lily stormed out of the classroom, he knew it would have to wait. Besides, Professor Slughorn was still in the room.

Severus muttered to Potter and Black, "You'll regret this," as he gathered up his potions supplies and took off after Lily.

He reached the corridor to see Lily disappearing around the corner. "Lily, wait!" He ran down the corridor and rounded the corner, preparing to shout again when he realized she was standing there waiting for him. Her hair was no longer its typical flaming red, but was a hot pink. Sev shuddered as he considered what he looked like. At least Lily was a girl.

"Hey," he started tentatively. "Are you okay?"

"Do I look okay?" Lily asked in a shout. "My hair is pink!"

"I'm sorry…" Sev said, taking a step back. "Maybe, erm, it doesn't look that bad, I mean –"

Lily took a deep breath, then interrupted him. "I'm sorry Sev, I shouldn't have yelled. It's just so frustrating. I hate pink and I'm stuck like this."

"I'm sorry," Sev repeated.

"It's not your fault," Lily said. "I'm going to go Sev. I'm not hungry anymore. And you should go change your robes."

Sev glanced down at his pink robes. "Oh, right… Yeah, I should go do that. I'll see you later."

"Bye Sev." Lily took off down the corridor, her pink hair swinging behind her.

Sev turned to go back to his dormitory, looking down at the hot pink robes he was now sporting. Black and Potter were going to pay for this, but how?

* * *

**AN: I'm thinking that next chapter will be a Quidditch match but we'll have to wait and see. _Please review!_**


	8. 1st Year: I'm Fine

**Hi everyone! This chapter is pretty boring, but I'm having trouble introducing all the characters and classes and such while still keeping time moving and things interesting. I really want to develop the characters well. Since there are so many it's hard to do but in my head I've got all their personalities and traits planned out and I'm trying to make sure they get shared. Hopefully you'll bear with me. The next chapter is definitely going to be a Quidditch match, and probably Sev's revenge. He's a patient guy so he's waiting for the right opportunity (plus I'm still figuring out what he'll do).**

**Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed - your reviews always make me happy and eager to keep writing! Special thanks to LilyxJames, I always look forward to your reviews, and moonbow22, that's just about the best compliment I could get!**

**Here's the next chapter, happy reading!**

* * *

While Severus returned to his common room and changed his robes, he racked his brains for a way to get back at Potter and Black. Glancing in the mirror at his pink face and hair, he began pacing back and forth. That was two pranks now. And both times Lily had gotten in the way _and they hadn't cared._ Well, he'd show them…

* * *

Lily looked in the mirror and bit her lip to keep from screaming in frustration. It was bad enough having red hair, always standing out in a crowd. But now it was pink. Petunia was right, she really was a freak. A freak with hot pink hair. She had always known she didn't quite fit in at home. When she found out she was a witch, she had hoped she'd finally fit in. There was no way she had a hope of blending in with this hair.

Lily sighed as she sank down onto her bed. She was being silly, it wasn't that bad. All she had to do was go to her classes – she could skip the meals for the rest of the day – and tomorrow morning her hair would go back to normal. Lily took a deep breath, reassuring herself that it would be okay. It was almost time for Defense Against the Dark Arts. This class was also with Slytherins, so it wasn't like they hadn't seen what happened.

* * *

Lily slipped into the classroom right as class started. She couldn't help but smile when she saw Charlotte saving her a seat in the back row. As she slid into her seat, Charlotte whispered to her, "Are you okay? We didn't see you at lunch."

Lily nodded, "I'm fine. I wasn't hungry."

Charlotte's look told Lily that she understood as they turned to face the front of the classroom, where Professor Merrythought stood.

"Good afternoon class," Professor Merrythought began. "Today I will be teaching you a basic disarming spell. The incantation is expelliarmus." She tapped her wand against the blackboard and it appeared. "You must speak clearly when casting the spell – as you must with any spell. And be sure to point your wand at the person who you wish to disarm, otherwise the spell will do you no good. Please pair up to practice this spell. For now you may pair with whomever you like. I simply wish to see what you can do, but in the future I will pair you with someone who matches your ability. Are there any questions? No, then you may begin practicing."

Charlotte turned to Lily, "Let's be partners." Lily nodded in agreement. She normally paired with Sev, allowing the four other girls to pair together, but right now she was not eager to call more attention to herself by pairing with the boy whose hair matched hers.

As she thought this, she glanced at Sev. He was looking at her, his eyes asking if she would be his partner. Lily shook her head slightly, gesturing towards Charlotte. Sev's face fell as he turned towards his Slytherin classmates, looking for someone to pair with. Looking around further Lily noticed that the sandy-haired boy, Remus, had paired with Mary, Alice and Marlene had paired together, and – of course – James and Sirius had partnered. Professor Merrythought had begun patrolling the room, observing and offering advice when necessary.

Turning back to Charlotte, Lily said, "Why don't I go first?"

Charlotte shrugged. "Go ahead."

Both girls pulled out their wands and Lily lifted her arm to point at Charlotte. Her face grew serious as she said firmly, "Expelliarmus." To her disappointment, nothing happened. She tried again and again nothing happened.

From behind her a voice spoke. "That's okay Ms. Evans. No one else has gotten it either. Ms. Webb, why don't you try?"

"All right Professor," Charlotte said, raising her wand. She took a deep breath then said, "Expelliarmus!" Again, nothing happened. Charlotte looked down at her wand in disappointment.

Professor Merrythought chuckled. "Don't get frustrated girls. You're just beginning to use your magic. It will take some practice before the spells come easily. Just keep trying." He moved onto James and Sirius. "Alright Mr. Potter, let's see you try it."

James shrugged. He had already tried and nothing had happened but he'd give it another go. Pointing his wand at Sirius he focused on Sirius' wand and shouted, "Expelliarmus!" To his surprise, Sirius' wand flew out of his hand.

"Well done Mr. Potter," Professor Merrythought congratulated him. "Five points to Gryffindor. Keep practicing everyone."

Lily looked at Charlotte, slightly annoyed. _Why was James able to do the spell when no one else was? What made him so special?_ Screwing up her face in concentration, Lily exclaimed, "Expelliarmus!" To her delight, Charlotte's wand flew out of her hand. "I did it, I did it!"

"Good job Lily!" Charlotte said as she went to fetch her wand. "My turn now."

* * *

From across the room, Severus watched as Potter successfully Black. His resentment towards them grew as Potter gained the spotlight of being the first to master the spell. Some of his frustration dissipated as Lily successfully disarmed her partner. He'd always known she was a bright girl and that she'd do well here at Hogwarts. But now he needed to show that he was just as good as Potter. By the end of class, Severus was one of the few students who had properly disarmed their partners.

"Make sure to practice before our next class!" Professor Merrythought called to his students as the bell rang.

Gryffindors had Herbology next, with the Hufflepuffs. The five Gryffindor girls made their way down to the greenhouses together.

"Are you sure you're okay Lily?" asked Alice for the third time.

"Yes Alice, I'm fine. I'll be a lot better when I get rid of this pink hair but I'm fine," Lily tried to assure her.

Marlene cut in, "She said she's fine Alice, give the girl a break! What do you think we'll be doing in Herbology?"

"Probably taking more notes on different types of plants," Charlotte predicted. "I'm glad we finally got to start practicing spells and making potions today. That was a lot more interesting than notes!"

"Most definitely," Marlene agreed.

As they drew near to the greenhouses, they could see the Hufflepuffs standing outside waiting. A few of the girls giggled when they noticed Lily's hair, but they were too nice to say anything out loud. Professor Bones appeared and led them into Greenhouse One where, as predicted, they spent the class taking more notes.

* * *

Class ended and the students headed back up to the castle in small groups. When they reached the entrance hall, Lily said to the other four girls, "I'm not hungry again. I'm going to go up to our dormitory and start on my homework. I'll see you later!" With a wave, she started up the stairs.

The girls let her go but a glance at each other said they'd be bringing some food with them when they headed back to the Gryffindor Tower.

* * *

**Well, hopefully that wasn't too boring. Please review! I'll update again before New Years but in the meantime, Merry Christmas! :D**


	9. 1st Year: Quidditch & A Revengeful Dare

**Hi everyone! As always, thank you for your reviews! I love knowing that there are actually people out there reading my story and liking it! :) Sorry for not posting again before New Years like I said I would. Some family stuff came up unexpectedly over the holidays, then it was back to school this week. But I finally got around to writing/posting this chapter! I really hope you like this chapter. And more reviews would be great ;)**

**In case anyone cares, I did not come up with the idea of Harry Potter, the wizarding world, or any characters that you may recognize. Those all belong to J.K. Rowling.**

**I think it might get a little confusing with who's on which Quidditch team and everything, so hopefully this clears things up:**

**Gryffindor - Thomas Wood (captain, seeker, 7th year), Mady Dailey (beater, 7th year), Benjy Fenwick (beater, 2nd year), Lynne Korman (keeper, 3rd year), Laura Hutchings (chaser, 6th year), Frank Longbottom (chaser, 2nd year), Edmund Crowden (chaser, 5th year)**

**Hufflepuff - Ludovic Bagman (captain, beater, 7th year), Isabel Lee (beater, 6th year), Nicholas Kuell (seeker, 4th year), Ryan Koss (keeper, 6th year), Scott Herald (chaser, 5th year), Tim O'Brian (chaser, 5th year), Helen Bolton (chaser, 5th year)**

* * *

The next few months of school flew by. A deep wintry chill settled over the castle, as the trees and ground grew bare. When November came, all the students began to look forward to the upcoming Quidditch match. The first game of the year was to be Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff.

Lily and Sev had successfully returned to their natural skin and hair colors. Sev had been on the receiving end of a few more pranks since then – luckily Lily hadn't gotten in the way again. He'd thought up his perfect revenge and was waiting for the opportune moment.

* * *

The morning of the Quidditch match dawned clear and bright. All five Gryffindor girls made their way down to the Great Hall, chatting and giggling as they went. Over the past few months, Lily, Charlotte, and Alice had grown particularly close, bonded by their muggle experiences growing up. Marlene had become good friends with James and Sirius, the three of them knowing what it was like to grow up in a wizarding home. Mary was the quietest of the girls, often choosing to stay in the Gryffindor common room to read rather than explore the grounds or the castle. The other girls accepted this but always came back with some sort of story to tell their friend. Mary had told the girls she didn't want to go and watch the Quidditch game but this time they had put their feet down, insisting she join them until she gave in.

The girls seated themselves at the Gryffindor table and dug in, eager to finish their breakfasts and head down to the Quidditch pitch. James and Sirius soon joined them. Only a few months into school, James and Sirius were already inseparable.

"Good morning ladies!" James said with a huge grin.

"Morning James!" replied Marlene. "Excited for Quidditch?"

"Most definitely!" James exclaimed.

Before anything more could be said, the Gryffindor Quidditch team stood up to go down to the field. The entire table broke out clapping, with calls of good luck. They were soon followed by the Hufflepuff team.

"Come on guys! Hurry up and finish eating so we can go get good seats!"

"Yeah, hurry up!" James agreed with Marlene. The others laughed.

Everyone finished eating quickly. The second Sirius consumed his last piece of toast, James was on his feet, pulling Sirius up from the bench and urging everyone to get up. James and Marlene led the way out of the Great Hall, with the other first years following close behind. Once they walked out the front doors, James and Marlene began running ahead, then pausing for the others to catch up.

Finally Sirius had enough of their impatience. He nudged the other four girls and whispered his plan. With grins, they all agreed. Once they caught up to James and Marlene, before the two could start running again, Sirius shouted at the top of his lungs, "Race you to the Quidditch pitch!" and the five of them began running past their two overly-excited friends, screaming and laughing as they went. James and Marlene glanced at each other for half a second, wondering what had just happened, then took after their friends. Laughing as they ran, all seven first years reached the Quidditch pitch in no time at all. Charging into the stadium, they all paused to catch their breath before ascending the stairs to find seats.

* * *

The match turned out to be a close one. The Hufflepuff team had more experience; their youngest player was Nicholas Kuell, a fourth year. However, the Gryffindor team worked better together. Their captain Thomas Wood had them practicing every spare moment of the day, until they could predict each other's moves.

"And Gryffindor has the Quaffle. Laura Hutchings passes to Edmund Crowden. He's heading toward the goal. And he's blocked by a bludger sent by Ludo Bagman. Now Hufflepuff has possession. Scott Herald has the Quaffle, passes to Helen Bolton who passes it over to Tim O'Brian. They're getting close now, will they score? And… and, yes, they have scored! An unlucky miss by Gryffindor Keeper Lynne Korman. The score is now 80 – 90 to Hufflepuff." Anna's voice echoed throughout the stadium as a large mass of yellow cheered for their team.

"Crowden in possession of the Quaffle again, flying straight towards the goalposts. He dodges a speeding bludger sent by Isabel Lee, ducks around Hufflepuff chaser Tim O'Brian, it looks like he's going to shoot! But no, he passes to Hutchings – Hufflepuff keeper Ryan Koss didn't see that coming – and she puts it away neatly! 10 points for Gryffindor, making the score 90 – 90." This time it was the scarlet fans cheering on their team.

"Bolton has the Quaffle but, oh dear… she drops it as she's hit by a well-aimed Bludger from Mady Dailey. Crowden in possession, flying towards the Koss. He passes to Longbottom just as Isabel Lee and Captain Ludo Bagman both send their bludgers towards him. Dodges the bludger from Lee, and… ouch, that must've hurt. COME ON FRANK!" Distracted by the two bludgers heading towards Edmund, the crowd had failed to notice Frank approaching the Hufflepuff goals. With only the Hufflepuff goalie ahead of him, Frank took careful aim as he came within shooting range.

In the stands, all the Gryffindor first years watched anxiously. "Come on Frank! Come on Frank!" Marlene and James chanted. Alice was jumping up and down, squealing in excitement. She grabbed Lily's arm as she shouted, "You can do it Frank!" Lily grinned at Alice and she blushed but they both turned their attention back to the game.

"He shoots…. And scores! That's another ten points for Gryffindor, putting them in the lead, 100 – 90!" Anna's voice shouted.

"Can they keep this lead? LOOK! It seems as if Hufflepuff seeker Nicholas Kuell has seen the Snitch! And there goes Gryffindor's seeker, Thomas Wood, racing after Kuell. Yes ladies and gentlemen, I can see the Snitch! Wood is gaining on Kuell, but Kuell still has the lead… Come on Wood! And – I don't believe it – Wood has caught up to Kuell! Even with his head start, Kuell no longer has the advantage. They can both reach it now… Who will catch it?" A whistle blew from down on the pitch, signaling that the Snitch had been caught. "Wood catches the Snitch, Gryffindor wins!"

All the Gryffindors stood, cheering for their team at the top of their lungs. The other players flew over to where Wood floated, his arm raised in victory holding the Snitch in his fist.

When the excitement died down, the Gryffindor first years left the stands, discussing the match energetically. As they exited the pitch ahead of their friends, James turned to Marlene and said, "I can't wait until that's us next year!" Before Marlene could reply, a different voice responded.

"You, play Quidditch Potter?" a voice sneered. "Yeah right."

James whipped around. "Oh, it's you Snivellus. I will too play Quidditch next year!"

"No you won't," Snape said as he walked forward from the shadow of the stadium. He and Lily had agreed to meet there after the game but when he saw James, he seized the opportunity. "You'll be too scared. You'll be so scared you won't even be able to get on your broom."

"I'm not scared of anything!" James said fiercely.

"What's going on?" Sirius asked, as he exited pitch with the other girls. He walked forward so that he was standing beside James and then crossed his arms. "Causing trouble again Snivellus?"

"Don't call him that!" came Lily's voice angrily. She marched forward to where she could see both James and Sev. "Sev, what's going on?"

"Oh I was just telling Potter here that he'd be too scared to play Quidditch next year. He claims he's not scared of anything. Well Potter, if you're not scared of anything, I dare you to go into the Forbidden Forest! Make sure to bring me something back to prove it."

"You're on Snape," James agreed angrily.

"No!" Lily shouted. "James, are you stupid? You know the Forbidden Forest is off limits. And Sev, grow up! This is crazy. Tell him you didn't mean it. Tell him not to do it!"

Snape nodded once at James, then turned on his heel and headed up to the castle. Lily shot James a disapproving look, then took off after Sev. They could hear her trying to convince him to take it back.

"Really James, don't go," Alice spoke up. "Severus just wants to get you in trouble. Let it go, he's not worth it."

"Maybe you're right Alice," James said thoughtfully. "Why don't the rest of you head up to the castle? I just realized I left my… wand. Yeah, I left my wand in the stands."

"I'll come with you mate," Sirius said.

"Okay," James consented. "We'll see the rest of you later."

With a suspicious glance back, Alice led the rest of the girls back towards the castle. James and Sirius turned and headed back toward the Quidditch pitch.

"You want to go right now?" Sirius asked. He knew, as a best friend should, that James had not left his wand in the stands.

"No," said James, "There are too many professors around." He gestured towards the stadium, where a few professors were just exiting. "We'll go tonight."

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**I hope you liked it. Please review! :)**


	10. 1st Year: Into the Forbidden Forest

**Hi everyone! You probably all hate me for not updating in forever and then some. I understand and I am so completely, absolutely sorry! Words cannot express how sorry I am. I could give you reasons and excuses, such as:**

**My family moved to Timbuktu and I didn't have internet access until now.**

**I was attacked by Death Eaters and had to spend several months running for my life.**

**My brother made me his slave and would not allow me near a computer.**

**Nargles infested my brain, making me unable to think enough to write the next chapter.**

**My pet hippogriff ate my flashdrive. Repeatedly.**

**But none of those would be true, so all I can do is apologize and hope you'll forgive me enough to read this and let me know what you think! As always, I don't own anything you recognize. Enjoy!**

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**Here's a basic summary since you've probably forgotten all that I wrote:**

**Everyone arrives at Hogwarts in varying states of excitement. Lily, Charlotte, and Alice all become very close, bonded by their muggle upbringings. James and Sirius become best friends, and very close friends with Marlene, joined by their wizard upbringings. Mary keeps to herself but is still good friends with the other girls. Lily doesn't appreciate James' and Sirius' pestering of Snape, but she's friends with them right now. And of course, Snape already hates Sirius and James and they pretty much return the sentiments. He's trying to gain his revenge and has dared James to go into the Forbidden Forest.**

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James and Sirius sat on the couch in the Gryffindor Common Room as the last person disappeared up the stone steps. It was long past midnight. They had planned on sneaking into the Forbidden Forest that evening, but they had not accounted for the party, due to the Quidditch team's victory. So they were forced to sit there and wait until everyone went to bed.

As they heard the door shut to the dormitory, Sirius glanced at James who nodded, his hazel eyes shining bright with excitement. Together they stood up and headed to the portrait hole. They pushed it open and were about to climb out when they heard a voice behind them, making them freeze in fright.

"Where do you think you're going?" It was Lily.

"Sirius doesn't feel well," James lied quickly. "I'm taking him to the hospital wing." He glanced frantically at Sirius, who immediately twisted his face into a pained expression and clutched at his stomach.

"Sirius seemed fine at the party," Lily contradicted. "He didn't seem to have any trouble drinking three butterbeers and eating his way through who knows how much food."

"You see, that's, er, why he doesn't feel well. Ate too much. But we must be going. Good night!" James pushed Sirius out of the portrait hole, hoping that Lily would accept his excuse.

"You're lying," Lily exclaimed, following them out of the Common Room. James inwardly cringed. Of course she wouldn't buy it. She was one of the smartest students of their year for a reason. "I know exactly what you're up to! You're trying to sneak into the Forbidden Forest!"

"No Lily, of course not," James tried to placate her.

"I'll go to Professor McGonagall!" she threatened.

"You wouldn't dare," Sirius hissed. "Besides, you don't know how to find her room!"

Lily opened her mouth to argue back but stopped, realizing that he was right.

"Now if you don't mind, we'll be going," Sirius said firmly.

"Of course I mind!" Lily said, her voice rising in pitch. "You'll lose us house points! Sev was being stupid, you shouldn't listen to him!"

"Please Lily," James said with a hint of impatience, "If we don't do it he'll call us cowards. We're Gryffindors, we're supposed to be brave."

"You're just being foolish," Lily argued, "Not brave. But fine, go get yourselves killed. See if I care. I'm going back to bed. I'll tell Professor McGonagall in the morning."

Sirius and James shrugged. She would have no proof in the morning. They turned and began to walk away. Moments later, they heard footsteps running up behind them.

"James, Sirius, wait!" Lily called behind them.

Sirius turned around, "What now?" he asked furiously.

"The Fat Lady's fallen asleep and won't wake up! I'm not going to hang around here and wait for Filch to find me. I'm coming with you!"

Sirius opened his mouth to argue but James cut him off. "Fine, but if we get caught, you are just as responsible as us."

The three silently made their way out of the castle and down to the Forest's edge. They hesitated for a moment before James led the way onto the path.

"We don't have to go in far. We just have to go far enough to get something to prove to Snape that we were here," he called back to the others. They followed the path for about twenty minutes, looking for something they could bring back with them. A heavy silence weighed down on them, broken only by an animal's call in the distance and the wind blowing through the trees.

All three students jumped when they heard a roar of rage from a close distance to their right.

"What was that?" Lily asked frantically.

"I'm not sure," both Sirius and James responded.

James looked at Sirius nervously. "Let's find out?" he asked.

Sirius nodded. They pulled their wands out and crept towards the sound cautiously. Sounds of a struggle grew as they moved closer. They soon entered a clearing in the trees. Something was on the other side, making the noises, but they could not tell what.

James pulled Lily behind him. It was his fault she was with them; the last thing he wanted was for her to get hurt again. It wasn't her fault she kept getting caught in between him and Snape. They inched forward until they could see clearly.

The struggling figure was a young centaur. He appeared to be covered in vines. As they watched, he pulled at his throat, fighting to get the vines off him. The more he pulled, the tighter they became, slowly wrapping themselves around his legs and torso, tightening their hold on his next, slowly strangling him. Lily gasped in horror. She darted forward around James, who tried to pull her back. She reached the centaur and pointed her wand at the vines.

"Diffindo!" she cried and the vines around his rear legs broke. "Diffindo, diffindo!" She repeated the spell over and over again, racing to release the centaur from the vines as they continued to grow. "Help me!" she called to the boys.

With James and Sirius' help, she managed to free the centaur. The moment he was free, he pushed himself shakily off the ground and galloped to the other side of the clearing. The first years moved themselves away from the vines, then watched warily for what the centaur would do. Now that he was free, they could tell he was about the age of a teenager, with white blond hair and a palomino body.

He slowly approached them with his hands in the air, to show that he wouldn't hurt them. When he was just beyond arm's length he stopped. "Thank you," he said in a low voice. "Thank you for saving me. My name is Firenze and you have done me a great service. I shall not forget it."

"You're welcome," they replied in awe.

"Although you did not know who I am, I know who you are from your faces. You are James Potter, Lily Evans, and Sirius Black. I am sorry to say you have difficult lives ahead of you. You shall face many trials and tribulations, yet you will preserve due to your love for one another. I cannot tell you more of your fate for it is against the rules we centaurs have, but remember this: there is no greater gift than love. It creates joy and happiness, security and protection. It is an ancient magic, far greater than any you shall learn at school. With love, anything is possible." Firenze paused for a moment, allowing time for his message to sink in. "Now, I must lead you back to the school grounds. The Forest is never a safe place for students and it is time for you to return to your dormitories."

When they reached the edge of the Forest, Lily spoke up. "Thank you, Firenze, for helping us find our way back."

"It was nothing Lily," Firenze smiled. "Do not forget that you saved my life earlier."

James opened his mouth. "Do you think – er – would you mind giving us on of your hairs. We, well, we need to prove we went into the Forest," he finished sheepishly.

Firence pulled out one of his hairs and handed it to him. "Thank you!" James said.

"No," said Firenze, "Again, thank you. But this is where we must part. Look out for each other." He turned and galloped off into the Forest.

James, Sirius, and Lily looked at each other for a moment before heading back to the castle. They walked in silence, each lost in their own thoughts, pondering the events that had transpired.


End file.
